Children of the Night
by CassieJonesTheThird
Summary: The children of the original midnight club are forced to complete one final challenge. Spoilers Ahead


The Children of The Night

Betty Cooper opened her eyes with a splitting headache. The first thing she saw when she could focus was that she was not in her room. She glanced across the strange chamber and saw an elegant rosy pink ball gown. She threw her sheets off of her legs and walked to the dress.

_Please wear this to dinner. We've been expecting you._ The note wasn't signed. Betty quickly pulled off her sweatshirt and put on the heavy dress. She ran her hands over the smooth fabric and all its jewels. _Who must be rich enough to afford this?_ Then it clicked. Penelope Blossom. It all made sense now. The red curtains, bed spread, and lampshade. All the Blossoms' signature color. She turned to face herself in the mirror and admired the gleam of the dress. She fixed her hair with her hands and opened the door.

Jughead was fiddling with the silverware when he heard the creak of the old staircase. There he saw the most beautiful thing in the world. No, not the dress. Betty. He smiled at her and she took her place next to him. There she saw Veronica Lodge and Archie Andrews, her best friends. A great feast laid before them, filled with potatoes, roast beef, and the finest wine to the taste. At the head of the table sat Penelope Blossom in all her glory. She had a wicked sneer on her lips.

"Welcome, children of the original Midnight Club, to the Hunt. First you might have some questions," she said.

"Yes actually-" Veronica began.

"I will be the speaker." Penelope cut her off. "Now, tonight is a very special night for you four. But first," she gestured to the entryway to the dining room. The two most feared people in Riverdale came striding through. The Black Hood and the Gargoyle King. First, off came the Black Hood's mask to reveal Harold Cooper, Betty's father.

"Oh my god" Betty muttered, rolling her eyes. Inside, her heartbeat hit like a sledgehammer. The ominous face of the king seemed to be glaring right at her.

"Now, now. No masks at the table." Penelope said. One claw reached up the enormous head of the Gargoyle mask and yanked it off. Betty's stomach lept. It was Chic. She thought back to when she brought him to her father. Chic's hair is now red, just as Jason's was.

"I bet I'm the last person you would expect to see right now, huh Betty". Chic spat with anger and disgust in his voice. "Not after you gave me to the Black Hood".

"That's right Betty. After you nearly killed Chic yourself, he begged me to spare his life and I told him to work for me. He happily obliged. So I made him the Gargoyle King, and the Mastermind behind it all was Penelope Blossom. She is the true king."

"I-I don't understand," Veronica began, "Mrs. Blossom is the one responsible with all the deaths?"

"That's not the point, Miss Lodge" Said Penelope. "Today's game will be to survive the night in the woods. I have created many challenges for you and you will be lucky to get out alive".

Once dinner was finished, the fabulous four followed closely behind Penelope to the front of the yard. Behind them were some very scary looking men also wearing grey rubber masks. They were carrying some very large, pointy sticks which made everyone on edge.

"My dear children," She began, "Once the gong rings, you will make your way through the woods and then out again before dawn." Archie held Veronica's hand like there was no one left on Earth. He bent down to her ear and whispered, "Ronnie, if we don't make it out," he started, "I-"

"Begin!"

The gong sounded and Archie was swept back to reality. He tore off his sport jacket and took off after the others.

Once safely (maybe not so safe) inside the woods, Veronica looked back at Archie, who now wore a sullen look on his face.

"You were saying something?" she said. Archie could absolutely not focus on anything else but what he was going to say. Lord, she was stunning. His Ronnie was normally drop dead gorgeous, but tonight, she looked positively magnificent. Her black dress accentuated all of her perfect curves and she had her hair up in a glamorous bun rather than down like normal.

"Uh- it was nothing, I guess". He quickly stammered back. Veronica shrugged it off. Jughead gratefully interrupted the awkward moment between the two.

"Hey guys, look over here!" he shouted, "I think we found our first quest!" There was a card all right. The card read "Red Paladin". Archie immediately knew it was for him.

"Go on, Arch" Betty told him, "Read it". So Archie did. He felt himself pale until he was sure there was no blood left in his face.

"It says," he tried to make out, "I have to fight."

"Aw, that's not so bad, Archie" said Jughead.

"No, Jug. I have to fight a 'grizzled beast' whatever that means." A loud snarl cut through the silence.

"Uh, I think that's the grizzled beast we're looking for" Betty sounded frightened. Jughead pulled her to him into a close embrace.

"No way, Archie. No way in hell I'm letting you go down there. That guy is 7 feet tall and absolutely ripped" Veronica said.

"Ronnie, you know what she said. If I refuse to do this, we all die. It's just a fight. I fight for a living." Archie took his shirt off and stepped into the pit. The man growled again.

"Come on, man. Let's have a good, clean fight." He charged, taking Archie by surprise, pushing him to the ground. Punches were thrown and Archie spat blood in the bear's face. Archie stumbled and hit the ground hard. Veronica gasped. Archie stood back up and continued the fight. He grabbed a nearby bone and whacked the guy in the face. Blood flew everywhere and the other dude was out cold. Archie looked up out of the pit and saw that his Ronnie was crying hysterically. He trudged up the slope and pulled her into a hug. It was just then that he wanted to tell her that he loved her. She gave him his shirt back and he gingerly slipped his arms through it.

"We should probably get a move on," said Betty.

"Yeah" Jughead agreed.

They walked for about another hour until they came to the next quest. This one was labeled "Enchantress". Veronica knew it was for her. She walked to the clearing and found a worn stump where 7 chalices laid. She walked up to the stump and pushed her hair behind her ears. She looked back at Archie who gave her a reassuring look.

Veronica grabbed the yellowing scroll and slowly unwrapped the paper. _You must choose your closest companion to take a chance. Before you are seven chalices each filled with gargoyle blood. One is poisoned with a fast acting lethal venom. Find your way out, get the antidote. _Her hands trembled. Tears welled in her eyes. She showed the scroll to Betty and sobbed.

"Vee," Betty said.

"No, Betty. I can't do this." Veronica said.

"Then what?" Jughead asked, "We all get shot?"

"Jughead's right. I have to do this. I am your best friend so it's only right I'm the one who has to do this."

Veronica took in a shuddering breath and nodded. She reached down to the Blossom Maple Syrup bottle resting on the stump and gave it a spin. In those four seconds, realization dawned on both of them. _Are we willing to risk our lives for each other? _The bottle landed on the first chalice to the left of Veronica. She carefully lifted it to her lips and took a small sip. She felt the thick liquid in her mouth. It tasted like cranberry juice with a hint of Crystal. She swallowed.

"Well, how do you feel?" Archie asked.

"I think I'm fine." Veronica replied. She spun the bottle again, this time it landed on the second to the right from Betty. Betty drank it. She nodded and they continued spinning the bottle, each drinking and feeling fine other than the building anticipation in their stomachs. Finally, it came to the final chalice. It was Betty's turn to spin. She exhaled and lifted the chalice to her lips, before she could drink from it, Veronica reached forward and grabbed the cup from Betty's hand. She drank deeply from the chalice.

"Vee no!" Betty cried.

"I'm sorry, Bee. I just love you so much, and I couldn't live with myself knowing that you died."

"Well, well." A familiar voice sneered. Penelope Blossom strode out of the woods into the clearing.

"You passed the test, Miss Lodge."

"Of course" Said Jughead, "It was a character challenge. None of the chalices were really poisoned."

"Actually," said Penelope, "They were all poisoned. It's a slow acting venom, and you just need to end the game to find the antidote."

Betty and Veronica exchanged a horrified look.

"Then let's go!" Yelled Archie. Betty and Veronica hiked up their dresses and took off after the boys.

Betty and Veronica were utterly exhausted. The poison was setting in slowly but surely. They came to a stop and saw the next quest card. _Hellcaster_, It read, _you must defeat what troubles you most._ In that moment, Gladys Jones came strutting out of the woods.

"Jug," she said, "I don't want to have to do this."

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Jughead asked.

"I'm your challenge." She nodded sullenly. "You have to-" her voice breaks and so does Jughead's heart. She hands him a pistol with one bullet in it.

"You only get one shot," she says. "If you fire and there is no bullet, you get to move on with me alive. You must point the gun at my head."

Jughead feels crushed. He looks at Betty and she looks at her feet. Gladys is sobbing and Jughead is absolutely broken.

"I can't do this," He cries.

"You have to, Jug." Replies Gladys, "Or else you four all die. I've lived so much longer than you have, and my time has come."

Jughead cocks the gun and closes his eyes.

"I love you mom." He sobs. A shot is fired. Gladys Jones lies dead on the ground. A puddle of blood pools around her head. Jughead drops to his knees as wracking cries shake him to the core. Betty hurriedly runs to comfort him. She pulls his head to her chest and strokes his hair. Betty falters and gasps. Jughead immediately knows they need to find the antidote. Now.

Betty is extremely quiet. All the others have had awful challenges, and she is the last one to go. A pondering thought itches her brain: _Who am I going to kill?_ Betty is an enigma. She is sweet and kind on the outside, but inside, she has many people who she wishes dead. Betty isn't sure what her challenge may be, but she is confident it will be the worst of all. With that being said she gives a sniffling Jughead's hand a squeeze.

"Hey, look," mutters Veronica, "the next quest card."

_Elizabeth Cooper, you must face your biggest fears. Unleash the darkness inside you, and either kill your friends or yourself. Choose how you want to._ Betty is bawling. She shows the paper to Jughead, Veronica, and Archie.

"I choose myself." She says without a trace of worry in her voice. "I will sit here and let the venom set in until I die. That will be the end of me. You three have to go on to get the antidote for Veronica."

"No, Betty," begins Jughead

"We aren't leaving you" finishes Archie. Betty stands up and holds out her hands for one last hug. All four musketeers were not ready for this hardest goodbye. Especially not Betty. She didn't get to say goodbye to her mother, Polly, Cheryl, Kevin, and all her friends. She was going to a good place now, but no place could ever be better than where she was with her friends. She sat back down on a nearby stump and crossed her legs. She could feel herself getting dizzy as her closest friends walked away. She just closed her eyes when Jughead came running back with the antidote. He pried open her mouth and poured the black liquid in. She snapped her eyes open.

"Hurry!" Shouted Jug, "Penelope's after us!" Betty yanked her long gown up to her knees with one hand and grabbed Jugheads with the other. They ran to catch up with Archie and Ronnie.

"Betty?" They said in unison.

"No time to explain!" said Jughead, "Run!" Archie and Veronica ran after Betty and Jughead. They ran and they ran and they ran until finally, they reached the end of the woods. They survived the night and the sunrise was welcoming. A band of gargoyles came out of the woods not five seconds after the four had. Penelope was waiting at the edge, along with Hal, Alice, FP, Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, and Hermione. Each kid ran to their parents and flung into their arms. Jughead looked at FP and nodded and FP buried his face in Jugheads shoulder. Betty hugged her mom, but not her dad. Archie had one arm around each of his parents. They were both kissing and hugging him. Veronica was crying into Hermione's hair. Everyone was happy to see each other and the fabulous four were lucky to be alive. For one day, everyone in the town of Riverdale was happy. All was well.


End file.
